One such person is a teacher in Colombia who has been accused of stealing their pupils' Panini World Cup stickers to complete their own set, according to local media.

Colombian paper, El Espectador, reported how a 13-year-old pupil had his stickers confiscated but later saw his teacher pasting them into their own collection book in the staff-room.

A mother from the school in the central city of Bucaramanga told local radio: "It's no way to give an example to young ones, taking their stickers away for your own benefit."

El Espectador reported: "According to the pupil, the teacher was confiscating various pupils' stickers arguing that a commercial market was being created that was distracting students from their academic work in the institution."

Media gave no identities of the teachers or pupils.

With the tournament in Brazil still a month away, more bizarre stories are sure to surface as fans the world over gear up in their own special ways...